Rainbow Heart

Night Wish donning her special lunar guard battle armor flew over the graveyard circling the area. She had arrived to lend her support.

Twilight seeing the zombies return to their grave exhaustfully stated, “It is over.”

A sinister laugh came from behind. She looked back at Rainbow Heart.

“You fool! It’s not their bodies that are restless, it’s their souls! And now you’ve increased their misery to the tenth degree!” Rainbow Heart exclaimed.

His eyes glowed blue, an explosion from his horns directly into the clouds exploded resembling a nuclear explosion. A bright white light lit the sky. Then darkness drowned it out leaving only a glowing Rainbow Heart. At the Stones of Tears balls of souls flew through the air, their spheres yelling, screaming, and shouting with rage and sadness. They surrounded Rainbow Heart like glitter caught in a tornado. White and black swirls like water and oil poured down a funnel infused into him. A blinding flash of light blinded all who gazed upon him. When the power receded there stood a monstrous creature never before witnessed in Equestrian history. It looked like Rainbow Heart but had bone wings, tentacles flailing from his back, a pony skull bone helmet surrounded his head, and his two horns were now encased with one long skeleton like horn along with bone armor protecting his body in some places resembling the lunar guard attire. Rainbow Hearts cutie mark was replaced by a skull and crossbones cutie mark. Some spirits of ponies floated around him like an orbiting satellite around the earth, but most of all the souls infused themselves into his body. A few of the souls would fly into and out of him. The Death Alicorn had appeared.

“What is that?” Twilight stated surprised. “Rainbow Heart?”

Night Wish, landing the fence near Twilight, informed, “I’m not sure that’s Rainbow Heart anymore.”

A booming voice came from behind, “It’s the souls of one hundred suffering ponies.”

Night Wish and Twilight knew who the pony was who said it. They looked and saw it was Princess Luna standing behind them.

Princess Luna announced, “This is Nightmare Night. This is my night. I will not let him ruin it. I’ll take care of him.” Looking at Twilight she added, “Get all the ponies out of Canterlot that you can. Evacuate them to a safe distance.”

Twilight nodded and ran to her friends to get the job done.

Looking at Night Wish, the dark princess commanded, “Night Wish, to the sky!”

Luna and her apprentice flew into the night sky, the Death Alicorn aware that danger was coming prepared for battle taking to the sky with bone clamoring sound of his wings.

Luna and Night Wish circled around the Death Alicorn. Luna struck first with a blast from her horn. It hit the Death Alicorn in the side. The Death Alicorn countered with his own barrage of horn beams.

Luna shouted, “Cover me while I attack it.”

She nodded in approval. Night Wish flew with incredible aerobatics that Luna and her had practiced before to engage an enemy, some of the maneuvers were only known to the Wonderbolts. She flew in the air getting the Death Alicorn’s attention using among other techniques barrel rolls, loopty loops, and zig zags. Luna attacked with horn discharges, punches, and kicks. The Death Alicorn returned the blows with his own, both of them striking each other many times.

One of the spirits, orbiting the Death Alicorn like the moon around Equestria, attacked. It surged forward resembling a skeleton pony wearing a black cloak with a scythe. The spirit struck Luna with the ghostly blade.

The dark princess fell uncontrollably.

Night Wish yelled, “Luna!”

She dove in to stop the pursuing Death Alicorn and kicked it in the skull helmet. The Death Alicorn now focused his sole attention on the pegasus pursuing her. The Death Alicorn discharged spinning flying bones at her. Night Wish dodged the bones. Nigh Wish going at maximum speed did a hard turn around a tower. Chasing Night Wish, The Death Alicorn made a beginners mistake and went too fast into the turn like a novice on skates who can’t turn. The Death Alicorn hunkered, rolled, and smashed through a tower wall his armor taking most of the damage. A pony who lived in the tower was showering and she screamed at the event. Large stones blew away from the explosive hole crashing down to the ground below.

Night Wish hid behind a wall exhausted and needing a second to recuperate. Thinking she had fooled the monster. The creature came up from behind and grabbed her with his tentacles.

Squeezing her tightly, Night Wish begged, “Rainbow Heart, if you’re in there. Stop this! Only more innocent ponies are going to get hurt.”

“We will not rest in peace!” The dark creature snapped.

Night Wish gasped for air as the tentacles clutched even tighter.

A massive blast struck the monster, knocking it away and loosening the tentacle grips enough for Night Wish to escape. Luna’s horn blast had struck the bone helmet and turned the left half of it into powder, smoke coming from the cavity revealed an enraged face with one heavily ghost possessed eye showing. Night Wish temporarily retreated to regain her breath.

With a sound like knuckles being cracked with a pop, the Death Alicorns wings pumped heavily and charged at Luna. Even with basic evasive flight patterns the Death Alicorn caught up Luna and rammed her against the same tower wall it had barreled through. Luna was grinded against the wall, her hide ripping and bloody. In a desperate lifesaving attempt she fired a horn blast at point blank range. It knocked Luna through the tower and kicked the monster back free falling for a moment before a swoop to recover from the fall.

The tower crumbled. The pony who was bathing fell screaming. The Death Alicorn heard her cries and broke away from the fight. The monster grabbed her, saving her life, and gently dropped down to the ground releasing the pony.

Twilight helping ponies scurry out of Canterlot witnessed this scene.

After viewing this, Twilight exclaimed, “The ghosts of the zombie ponies. They weren’t bad ponies. There were good ponies who are in pain, suffering, and misery. They needed our help. They needed our friendship, and we scorned them.” With a light bulb turning on above her head, Twilight announced, “That’s it! They need our compassion and understanding.”

Turning to the Canterlot and Ponyville ponies who come along, they were scrambling to get away, she demanded, “Ponies, come with me! I know how to stop this!”

At first none of them listened until she used her magic to stop them and ordered them to come with her.

Luna and Night Wish had regrouped and waited for the innocent pony to get out of the way before they continued the battle.

“Stop!” Twilight shouted.

Luna and Night Wish circled around not engaging. The monster looked at Twilight and the mass of ponies behind her including the main six.

“It’s okay. We’re here for you. We know you’re hurting. We want to help you. We will never forget you. We will always be there for you. You will always be our family and our friends.” Twilight continued.

Some of the spirits began to circle around her. Other ponies came forward, holding them with their hooves, snuggling, cradling, cuddling, hugging, and in case of a significant others kissing them to reassure them that they were loved and would never be forgotten. It worked. More of the spirits broke away from the Death Alicorn to be embraced by ponies who they had known in life and who cared for them. They glowed like fireflies in the night. The soul’s screams of anger and sadness faded to giggles and laughs. Many of the spirits made joyous sounds and some that cried tears of sorrow now wept with tears of happiness. Content and no longer restless, they flew back to their graves and were reunited with their deceased bodies.

With an explosion the Death Alicorn disassembled and Rainbow Heart flew through the air backwards smashing through Canterlot’s outer wall. He had no recollection of what had happened. It was almost as if he were as drunk as a skunk. His brain was a lightning storm, confused and not sure of anything he did the only thing his instincts told him to do, run to the deepest part of the Everfree Forest. A Royal Guard saw him from a balcony and fired an energy shot from his horn. It struck Rainbow Heart, but he dazed did not stop even though half of his flank was numb.